Catching Courage from John Rogers
“And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
John Rogers was an English pastor in the 16th century. He was the first martyr to be killed under the rule of Bloody Mary. Queen Mary I was the queen of England and Ireland from 1553, she is remembered for her brutal attempts at reversing the Protestant Reformation which was moving fast in England at that time.
John Rogers was a pastor who faithfully preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the doctrines of the reformation, and he certainly did preach, he was a powerful preacher. But, Queen Mary I was a ruthless leader who held tightly to Roman Catholic doctrine, when she came into rule she ordered that anyone who taught or held to protestant doctrine shall be put to death for their ‘heresy’. And she was looking closely at preachers like Rogers. Fearlessly, John Rogers on that first Sunday preached the gospel, that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Well, for doing this he was arrested and imprisoned, that was the last sermon he would ever preach.
In 1555, he was told to recant his views and endorse the Roman Catholic dogma, and in doing so his life would be spared; his reply was, “That which I have preached, I will seal with my blood”. In those days, Protestant Christians would be burned at the stake, and the stake was placed in front of their own church, so as to shame them in front of their own congregation, they also intended to scare and silence the congregation, effectively saying, ‘this is what will happen to you if you believe this gospel and share it’.
So, John Rogers was marched past his church building and his congregation, who were encouraging him and urging him to stay true to the faith and the gospel he preached. There were also people in the crowd mocking and jeering at him, belittling him. Despite this, he was said to have marched to his death triumphantly he knew where he was going, in fact the ambassador to France said, ‘it looked as though he was going to his wedding day’. Rogers recited loudly Psalm 51 by memory as he went. He reached the stake, and was tied to it, facing the crowd. And in the crowd was his wife and children, who he hadn’t seen for 2 years, in fact this was the first time he saw his youngest child, for his wife was pregnant when he was imprisoned and while he was tied to the stake his children were trying to break through the crowd to get to him, this must have been traumatic for his family.
He was surrounded by gunpowder and set alight. As the flames engulfed his lower body remaining calm he began rubbing his hands together in the flames as if they were in cold water, and this was to say he had been cleansed by the blood of Christ. He then lifted up his hands and reached out to heaven until the flames consumed his arms. His spirit gave up, and into the loving arms of Christ he went.
His death, encouraged many, many more to hold firm to the true gospel, and encouraged preachers to continue proclaiming it boldly in the face of martyrdom. And so many died at the hands of Queen Mary I.
There are many examples in Church History of strong and bold believers who faced martyrdom, or imprisonment, or ridicule. And we ought to read these stories, for by reading these incredible biographies, a little bit of that fire that consumed their passion for the gospel, is given to us. We are encouraged by them, to live for Christ whatever the cost.
I hope that this has kindled a fire in your soul, and if it has add fuel to the fire, don’t let it go out!
